It's Anybody's Game

By John Hawkins
Photo By Scott Halleran/Getty Images July 11, 2008

The best player in the world won't be there. Neither will the hottest player in the world, although Kenny Perry's reason for not playing in next week's British Open may have less to do with piling up Ryder Cup points and more with avoiding frequent-flyer miles. Regardless, those who identify the year's third major simply as the "Open Championship" should be delighted. This year, it really is an open championship.

Ernie Els, who hasn't won a premium-field event anywhere in almost four years, has been declared the co-favorite with Sergio Garcia. Defending champion Padraig Harrington and Phil Mickelson offer slightly better payoffs, but without Tiger Woods around to leave mouths agape and winning bets skimpy, it may seem to be a different ballgame at Royal Birkdale.

Even Woods can't win tournaments he doesn't enter. "An 18-percent increase in purses," is how veteran Lee Janzen describes Tiger's absence, referring to the standard share awarded for a PGA Tour victory. "Some people think it's bad for [pro golf], but I think it's terrific. I think everybody out here sees a chance to do some things that usually aren't available."

Lifting trophies would make that list. Woods' dominance in each of the last two summers registered as somewhere between astounding and hilarious: a combined 10 victories in 12 starts from the British Open to the end of the season. His commanding performance at Royal Liverpool in 2006 earned him a third claret jug and seemed to trigger a new-and-improved stage of the Tiger Dynasty, ending once and for all any lingering questions about his allegiance to swing coach Hank Haney.

Woods' lengthy sabbatical while he recovers from knee surgery obviously alters the landscape, but it's not as if everyone else will be getting out of bed 15 minutes earlier because a handful of elite tournaments are suddenly more attainable. "That's like asking someone if he plays harder at the British than he would here," Charles Howell III said last week at Congressional, where he was playing in the AT&T National. "You do the best you can to prepare for every event."

Howell's point is a fair one, but after brief contemplation, he also could see how life without Eldrick could have its advantages for the coach class. "Phil Mickelson or Ernie Els, guys who have had majors snatched out of their hands by Tiger, guys who have been there time and time again, I could see them having additional motivation," Howell added. "I'm just trying to get there."

Jim Furyk has been there and done that. Eighteen starts into a year that began with him ranked third in the world, Furyk has since fallen to 12th, leaving him behind a fleet of younger players, including Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Garcia and Justin Rose. Neither the emergence of youth nor the prospects of a Tiger-free universe, however, have grabbed Furyk's attention more than the tiny nick he discovered on the top of his 3-wood clubhead during the Congressional pro-am.

You basically needed a magnifying glass to see it. Some dents are easier to make than others. "If you're asking me whether I look at things differently now that Tiger's out, that sounds pretty much like chicken[bleep] to me," Furyk says of shrinking the gap. "I spend 99 percent of my time and energy trying to get the ball in the hole."

What's interesting is that fading veterans such as Janzen and Jesper Parnevik have a hard time wondering how Woods' lead rivals could not feel a sense of urgency to seize opportunity while he rehabs his knee. "We're only talking about two majors," Parnevik says. "It's not like guys are thinking, 'Oh, shoot, he's not here this week, so this is the best chance I'll ever have,' but even when Tiger doesn't win, he's right there every time.